Abstract

The Health Sciences and Technology Academy of Alabama (HSTA-AL) is an academic program focused
on health sciences enrichment offered through the College of Nursing at the University of Alabama to address the state’s
nursing and biomedical professionals shortage (i.e., a 10:1,000 nursing to population ratio). This paper examines outcomes
addressing social, academic, and life success from the participants’ perspective. The one-sample-pretest-posttest designed
study evaluated whether there was a difference between baseline and year 1 levels of community engagement and academic
intentions for the 23 students for which paired data were obtained. Analyses show promising outcomes from baseline to year
one matched responses with preliminary evidence of program goals being realized.